New method created for cell analyzing

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- George Washington University scientists say they've developed a new way of exploring the insides of living cells.

Akos Vertes and Bindesh Shrestha say knowing the contents of cells is the key to understanding how healthy cells differ from those in disease. But until now, the only way to "look" inside an individual cell was to remove it from its natural environment in an animal or plant -- or change its environment. But doing so changed the cell, so it was never certain whether one cell differed from another because of disease -- or because it had removed it to a new environment.

The scientists said their new technique uses laser pulses focused through a tiny glass fiber to explode a cell and turn its contents into vapor. Then a laboratory instrument is used to analyze the vapor and obtain a profile of the chemicals inside.

The scientists said they used the new technique to analyze the contents of living plant and animal cells and show it quickly and accurately identified important chemical details that would have been overlooked using conventional techniques.

The technology is reported in the online early edition of the journal Analytical Chemistry.